NAPERVILLE, Ill. _ Siblings Kayleigh and Noah Wittenburg are a dynamic duo, and they don't need capes to fly like Superman.
Elite indoor skydivers, Kayleigh, 12, and Noah, 10, draw their superpowers from fans that pull air through the vertical wind tunnel at the iFly facility in Naperville.
As the two train on weekday mornings at iFly, neophyte customers waiting their turn for a few minutes in the flight chamber watch in awe as Kayleigh and Noah rocket around like leaves whipped in a strong wind.
They make flying look like second nature.
It should be no surprise since they are the children of skydivers Mike and Julie Wittenburg, of Naperville.
Mike Wittenburg coaches his two kids, who will take their choreographed routine around the United States and the world in the next year to compete against adults who've had far more years of skydiving experience.
Wittenburg said indoor competitions took off a few years ago as more facilities were built worldwide and skydivers saw the benefit of training year round without worrying about the weather.
"It's challenging," Wittenburg said of his kids competing against adults. "They are bigger, but (Kayleigh and Noah) have more stamina."
Sky-diving siblings headed to international wind tunnel competition
Naperville siblings plan to complete against adults at an international indoor sky diving contest in Poland this fall.
The tiny skydivers already are racking up titles around the world. The places they've competed or visited is like a list of National Geographic adventures, including France, Spain, Italy, Ireland, London, New Zealand, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and Prague.
Their biggest win came last year, when they beat 19 rival teams to take top prize in the Dynamic 2-Way Class at the Clash of Champions Competition in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. It is also where the family lived the last few years.
Wittenburg, who is a professional sky diver and owns a local lawn care company, was hired by the crown prince to teach and coach sky diving at Inflight Dubai.
A chance occurrence spurred the children to get involved.
Wittenburg said one day Kayleigh was given an opportunity to fly in the tunnel, and her ability amazed the prince, who was watching.
"He said fly them as much as they want. I want you to train your daughter. What I saw in you, I see in her eyes," Wittenburg said.
The kids immediately started training three days a week.
"It was scary at first, mostly because it was so loud," Noah said. Any fears have since disappeared, and he's expanded into parachuting off the side of a mountain on skis.
Despite the 40-minute Dubai commute out of town to the tunnel, Wittenburg said he enjoyed sharing his experience with his children.
"Who wouldn't want a job to play with your kids in a wind tunnel," he said.
Kayleigh said she's thankful the family returned to Naperville because the drive to iFly from home is only 15 minutes. The quick commute will come in handy in a few weeks.
"We will go down to three days when school starts," Wittenburg said.
Of the siblings, Kayleigh is most excited for school to begin; she'll attend Lincoln Junior High.
Making friends, she said, is high on her agenda.
Noah, who has never attended an American school, will go to Maplebrook Elementary.
On Thursday, team Wittenburg trained in wind speeds in excess of 180 mph, roughly the equivalent of an F3 tornado or a category 5 hurricane.
Exhausting work, they only train inside the chamber for two to three minutes at a time.
The rest of the time they work on the choreography outside the wind, though that's not easy either.
Before the wind tunnel was revved up Thursday, the two kids walked through the steps of their three-dimensional dance on a two-dimension plane. At one point, Wittenburg lifted Kayleigh upside-down to simulate how a move appears when gravity is less of an issue.
"It's hard to visualize on the ground," Wittenburg said.
Being a dad helps because he knows when his kids are tired.
"Like any sport, you're going to have tough days," he said. "My only goal is that they work hard and have fun.
"I just want them to learn good work habits. They know what it takes to be the best whether this or in school. They know they can reap the benefits."
In September the family will head to Houston for the 2016 International Bodyflight Association Competition Series in preparation for the Federation Aeronautique Internationale Indoor Skydiving World Cup in Warsaw, Poland, in October.
Then the kids will compete in IBA events at the iFly in Ontario, Calif., in December and at the iFly in Virginia Beach, Va., in April.
Those competitions will lead up to the 2017 FAI Indoor Skydiving World Championship in Montreal, Canada, in October 2017.
People can follow their exploits on Facebook at Aspire Athletics.
At the end of a couple hours training day, Wittenburg gives his children a chance to be kids. They're favorite sport is tag in the tunnel.
"You can fly like Superman, climb like Spider-Man, run like Flash. It's like Iron Man, too," Noah said.
